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Although it seems as if Nintendo is going into a financial crisis in the wake of the Wii U’s paltry sales, the humble company still puts out a fantastic product for those who did buy one.

The game sees the Kong family celebrating DK’s Birthday when an army of arctic animals called the “Snomads” attack. Using a magic alphorn the Snomads blow the Kongs out of their home and put the tropical DK Island in a perpetual winter a la “Frozen” style. The Kong’s must traverse the different Islands taken over by the icy invaders and take back their home.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the latest game in the DKC franchise and employs the same 2D platform gameplay the games are known for since the first one developed by the OG’s at Rare. In single player you play as the titular Donkey Kong whose larger body feels realistically heavy but still tight to control and can use one of his three relatives as assists which change up the dynamic of your controls.

With Diddy you can use his jet pack to get an extra second of air time, using Cranky allows you to pogo with his cane to avoid spiky terrain and kill horned enemies and last but most useful is Dixie who uses her ponytail to give a lot more amnesty and control during tricky platform sections. In Multiplayer Player one controls DK, while a second player controls one of the three supports independently and both can still come together to perform the same actions.

The game consists of six different vibrant worlds, from Bavarian mountain tops to deep sea caverns, all with an icy coat to keep up with the game’s theme. Each level provides a surprise in terms of gameplay, with fast mine cart sections and in look, such as certain levels turning the in game characters into art deco silhouettes. This is all made better by the fact the great optimization of the graphics keeps the game at an extremely smooth frame rate Each world is finished by defeating a boss character, each with their own strategy and theme that tests the player to their limits.

The music is composed by David Wise who helped compose the music for the original DKC and returns with old remixes and new scores that will stay in your head as you play the game. The new voice acting for the Kong family is also a hilariously campy and will alleviate the frustration when you miss that split second jump.

DKC: Tropical Freeze is a beautiful game that keeps the hardcore, challenging platform spirit alive and makes a cool way to pass the time in waiting for the next masterpiece.